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Football-as-war analogies are overdone, but the 49ers added a genuine military flavor today at their Santa Clara headquarters.

Four-star Army general Robert W. Cone and his wife, Jill, visited the facility and watched practice. Cone, who deployed to Iraq from March 201o to Feb. 2011 as the second-highest ranking military officer in the U.S. forces there, had a rapt audience.

“He had a great message for the fellas,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “He talked a lot about what his soldiers do in Afghanistan … and some other really inspired messages. We just appreciate the dedication of these soldiers and their loyalty to their country and their team.”

Harbaugh acknowledged his discomfort in comparing football players to soldiers. At the same time, he said Cone pointed out many parallel tools used in both the military and professional football.

“He talked about training, concussion prevention and some things they’re doing with research and development in conjunction with the NFL,” Harbaugh said. “We also had an interesting conversation about their use of video and video games, simulating warfare and things like that. I think there’s a correlation there as football players.”

Cone and his wife will attend Sunday’s games against the Rams at Candlestick Park.